September 11, 2011: Drought in Texas, Clear Skies in Minnesota, Life Goes On

Sunday, September 11, 2011. School has started, so the regular mid-afternoon rush down South 9th to Ash is part of the daily schedule again. We've been having picture-postcard weather, which is great for taking photos: not necessarily good news for crops. Still, it could be worse: Folks in Texas are not having a good year.


U.S. Drought Monitor. (map adapted from The Drought Monitor, National Drought Mitigation Center, Lincoln, Nebraska, used w/o permission) Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

Folks took care of the worst of that July 10th storm's cleanup as soon as the wind and rain let up, or the day after. I've seen tarps over a few roofs: good enough, I trust, to get the homeowners through winter, giving them time to work out finances for a more permanent patch.

Jitters Java, downtown, is one of the business with storm-stressed signage. They've got a pretty good temporary fix set up: a sort of easel at the bottom of the sign's apparently-undamaged mast.


Jitters Java sign: 'some assembly required.. September 9, 2011.

Our Lady of Angels' Gospel Book hasn't been replaced. I don't know how long that'll take. The things can't be cheap: but of all the useless things to steal - - - who's going to buy the thing intact? The book's gold cover is real: but the gold was a thin layer of anodized gold, no more than a few microns thick. I doubt it'd be worth the trouble, trying to scrape the metal off.

Oh, well: we're getting by okay. This morning I learned that for the time being the church will be unlocked during weekday mornings and afternoons: nice for folks who'd been in the habit of stopping in.

Today's the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. New York City's put on an event for the occasion. We're not New York City: Our observances have been more along the lines of flags at half-staff.


Our Lady of Angels, Labor Day Sunday. September 4, 2011.

That's what I've got for this week. See you next Sunday!